Speaking Out: Just Speaking Out

Speaking Out: Just Speaking Out:            Easy Southwest Chicken Casserole !!! (1). Skinless Chicken breast or boiled chicken pieces,cut into smaller pieces. Boil ...

Just Speaking Out

           Easy Southwest Chicken Casserole !!!

(1). Skinless Chicken breast or boiled chicken pieces,cut into smaller pieces. Boil the chicken until done or grill with marinade and slice into pieces. (2). A package of Uncle Ben's microwavable Spanish Rice. (3) A Frozen package of Birds Eye or generic Southwestern steamed vegetables which includes diced red bell peppers, corn, and black beans, these packages are also usually microwaveable. (4). Optional one small can, or fresh green chilies. (5). Velveeta cheese, also the type of cheese in the recipe is optional. Using about six to 8 ounces of cheese and approximately about a 1/2 to a 1/3 cup of milk stirring them together slowly to make a cheese sauce.(6).This is optional, Add about half a teaspoon of red crushed pepper and ground black pepper and a little salt for seasoning. Mix rice, chicken,cheese sauce, and vegetables in a casserole dish or baking dish all together.Lightly grease the dish with olive oil, or even just a light amount of margarine. 

   Place in oven on about 300 degrees until the top is  a light brown. Remember everything is already precooked so at most, it usually only takes about 5 to 10 minutes. Slice and garnish with a fresh tomato on top of the casserole ,then also add a little fresh parsley for the garnish and this also creates eye appeal. Taste and looks like it took hours to make. 

Speaking Out: Just Speaking Out: Homemade Potato Salad

Speaking Out: Just Speaking Out: Homemade Potato Salad:     The Potato Salad Recipe that my family, and friends,  have asked for many years to have. 1.Potato's 8 to 12 2.Onion about a quar...

Speaking Out: Just Speaking Out

Speaking Out: Just Speaking Out:         Folk Art and The Doll Maker.                 History  in the making.        The stories written about the Folk Art Dolls...

Speaking Out: Just Speaking Out

Speaking Out: Just Speaking Out:         Folk Art and The Doll Maker.                 History  in the making.        The stories written about the Folk Art Dolls...

Just Speaking Out

        Folk Art and The Doll Maker.

                History  in the making.

      The stories written about the Folk Art Dolls and their making is extensive. The blogs and magazines are read by many all around the world. The apparel appears as it must of been made over hundreds of years ago. The bonnet, the bib, the brooch the dress. The detail in this doll is absolutely uncanny. Eyebrows, rose colored cheeks, the hands and arms made of a soft cloth. Everything on the doll is absolutely made by hand. The only exception to this is the brooch. 

     The maker of this doll hand signs each every one of her dolls. The interesting twist to this story, as I was browsing an antique store in Southern California, and picked up a doll similar to the one in the photo, the doll had been retrieved from an estate sale is what the owner had mentioned. After looking at the price tag I quickly changed my mind $23,000 was a little extreme for my wallet alone. The doll was an original Issana Walker doll. The art of doll making is time consuming, the photo is from "Plain & Simple Blog", who will make a doll for someone at a much smaller price than $23,000. The interesting concept here is that the doll is not made over night, and can be customized especially for each customer.  The dolls really are a very decorative piece of history, or make a great gift at Christmas for a child, and or a collector. The artist of this doll  also has done custom pieces of Folk Art for Halloween, and many other occasions. Folk Art really has become more recognized in recent years through out a variety of different  magazines.This really does leave a person wondering if that in fifty, to a hundred years whether or not this doll will sell for $23,000 or more. The doll makers blog also includes many other links to a variety of doll makers and artist.

    

    

Speaking Out: Just Speaking Out: Homemade Potato Salad

Speaking Out: Just Speaking Out: Homemade Potato Salad:     The Potato Salad Recipe that my family, and friends,  have asked for many years to have. 1.Potato's 8 to 12 2.Onion about a quar...

Just Speaking Out: Homemade Potato Salad

    The Potato Salad Recipe that my family, and friends,  have asked for many years to have.

1. 1.Potato's 8 to 12
2. 2.Onion about a quarter of a small white or yellow onion.
3. 3. Mayonnaise, or Miracle Whip, Lite or full flavor. About 8-10 tablespoons.
4. Kosher Dill Pickles, about 5 depending on whether your guest like them, or depends on personal taste.
5. Half a dozen peeled and sliced hard Boiled eggs.
6. (1)  A small jar of pimentos. 7. A half teaspoon of horseradish this is optional. 8. At least 2  tablespoons of white pepper. 10. About 3 tablespoons of ground fresh dill. 11. Mustard 4 tablespoons of any type that you chose, although I do not suggest honey mustard. 11. A small finely diced garlic glove. 12. And about 2 teaspoons of paprika. 13. Garlic Salt (optional). 14. Bacon (optional).

             Wash the potatoes then boil them with the skin intact, after the potatoes are fully boiled,  rinse them, set them in the refrigerator for about an hour and pull the skin off. Run them under cold running water while doing this.  Slice the hard boiled eggs and potatoes.  Mix them together in a large bowl. Dice the pickles and place them in with the potatoes and eggs, chop the onion and add these in also. 

          Next add about 8 tablespoons of mayonnaise. Then add about 4 tablespoons of mustard more or less depending on the taste buds. Should the consistency of the mixture look or seem a bit dry, add a little bit of the juice from the pickles, not to much though it will make it to thin! Add the garlic and white pepper, you can also use ground or regular black pepper. Then add the pimentos, the garlic salt also adds just a little more flavor.  Sometimes adding about about 2 teaspoons of garlic salt. Mix all of it really well together in the large bowl.  Sprinkle a little paprika on the top and a little of the fresh dill for the garnish look . 

      Personally, I like the little zest that the horseradish adds.  Occasionally, I will add a piece or two of fully cooked bacon, crumble it into the potato salad after it has cooled. One little key secret to making a good potato salad is to cook the potato's so they are very soft, and fully cooked. This makes  the potato salad easier to mix and a little more moist to eat. Cool the potato salad covered in refrigerator for about an hour, or two. Then once it has cooled completely, it is ready to eat.

     

Speaking Out: Just Speaking Out

Speaking Out: Just Speaking Out: Happy Healthy Cat!!!  The Cat in the Photo is one of my Pets.            I had just waked in the door, and I know I filled his di...

Just Speaking Out

Happy Healthy Cat!!! The Cat in the Photo is one of my Pets.

     

     I had just waked in the door, and I know I filled his dish before I left. I had not taken the bag to the trash on my errand.

     Apparently he thought he was out of his food. Something told me just grab this photo with my cell phone as I walked in the door. 

     He is very fond of his toys, notice the little mouse, between his front paws and of course it shows his cat chow bag, that he has obviously drug across the house. I guess he was trying let me know he catches mice, or something when he thinks he is out of food. 

     He, looks like he is mad for some reason! He weighs about a good 23 lbs or more and is extremely healthy. The funny thing is when he was just a kitten, he had a much smaller bowl, for his chow, and he would wake me up in the middle of the night dragging his bowl across the floor when it was empty, or he would come nibble on my nose until I would I get up and refill it. The best solution I found, to enable me to get a good nights rest without him making a lot of noise, was an automatic feeder.

     I just thought I would share this photo, it makes me wonder what all he gets into, or does, when I am not home. This photo makes him look guilty of something for sure.